It is now more than a year since the ravages of COVID-19 first descended upon Hong Kong and it is gratifying to reflect on how the city – and racing – has responded in the face of adversity.
In these trying and unprecedented circumstances, the power of positive thinking has never been more evident or as valuable. For me, it is true problems are never solved with a negative approach and we have seen this repeatedly.
Christophe Soumillon’s effort to share riding honours with a double with Joao Moreira and Zac Purton at Happy Valley on Wednesday despite back soreness was another example of how courage and persistence can overcome obstacles.
Equally, the Club has worked tirelessly to ensure world’s best practice with adherence to biosecurity protocols and we are especially pleased that we have not lost a single race meeting because of COVID.
This is due in no small part due to the cooperation of our licensees – trainers, jockeys and stable staff – Club staff and officials and the abiding patience of our owners and racing fans.
Wednesday’s meeting at Happy Valley marked the first anniversary of crowd restrictions because of the virus and it is to be hoped community vaccination might deliver a decisive turning point in the battle against the pandemic.
If so, we can hope for a gradual return to the normality which makes Hong Kong racing so exciting and engaging, which not only applies to racecourse attendance but also to the Club’s Off-Course Betting Branches (OCBB) operations.
Recently, I visited three OCBBs to gain an understanding of the operational dynamics between Club staff and our valued customers and I would explicitly like to thank our employees in our OCBBs for their dedication and eagerness to serve our customers.
It is not always easy for staff because our customers are passionate and the task of accommodating a customer who wants to place a bet on horse racing or Mark Six with an already filled out ticket and explaining why we cannot serve them because of COVID restrictions is difficult.
Our figures show there are still around 225,000 customer visits weekly to OCBBs with many of them cash-only patrons, even after the successful migration of many of our customers to digital applications.
We expect that number could easily reach 500,000 customer visits to OCBBs when there are significant jackpots when we are again operating in unrestricted mode with all 97 OCBBs performing all services including Mark Six.
The Club started the investment and development of online and mobile platforms for wagering services a decade ago. Under the COVID-19 pandemic, more customers have switched from cash betting to online betting. Currently, over 90% of our customers are able to place bets via online channels.
We understand that some of our loyal customers still prefer to use our cash services in OCBBs.
Since we need to strike a balance between providing customer with the services they need and upholding public health protection to prevent our activities from bringing public health risk to our staff and customers, we are obliged to close a majority of our OCBBs and open only 19 of them currently for limited customer services.
At present, these 19 OCBBs provide the services of betting account deposits or withdrawals and cash-in of cash vouchers or winning tickets for more than 27,000 customers daily.
I would like to thank our loyal customers for their enthusiasm in racing and football betting. I can share their disappointment when they visit our OCBBs with a completed betting ticket but cannot obtain the betting service they need.
We hope that the COVID-19 situation will improve and we soon can be at their service starting with account opening services, eWallet setup and wagering before a race meeting starts, as well as the resumption of Mark Six ticket selling at our OCBBs.
At Sha Tin on Sunday, the Group 3 Centenary Vase is an 1800 metre handicap, featuring six horses that participated in the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races last month. It is the seventh of ten races on the day and is a race that will help set the tone for major Group 1 races later this season.
Time Warp (Derek Leung) will set a good pace with reigning Horse of the Year Exultant (Zac Purton) tucking in behind his stablemate, with the third of Tony Cruz’s runners, Furore (Joao Moreira), in a striking position.
Harmony Victory (Alexis Badel) might also go forward with Chefano (Keith Yeung) dropping in behind. Singapore Sling (Karis Teetan) faces a potential three-wide run unless he goes back to last from barrier 10.
Exultant must carry top weight but has won this race under similar conditions in each of the past two years. He is durable, versatile and consistent, and his second to the 121-rated (international) Mogul in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase was no disgrace. He has handled the turn back in distance from 2400 metres in the past. I make him a place chance.
Glorious Dragon (Matthew Poon) ran second in this race last year and gets in again with the minimum weight. He comes into the race in top form and had a smart trial nine days ago. He should be a bit closer to the pace than usual from the low draw and is a win and place chance.
Furore looks like the horse to beat, having defeated Exultant on two occasions this season and still in receipt of five pounds at the weights. He will get a dream run and is a solid place chance at what may very well be his preferred trip.
Columbus County (Christophe Soumillon) returns from a Conghua freshener and has shown steady improvement this season. He is a top horse in the making and is a place chance coming from the back.
Savvy Nine (Vagner Borges) is also a place chance.
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